National Postdoctoral Association

This article is from the Spring 2009 issue of the POSTDOCket.

The NPA unveiled its inaugural campaign to increase membership and strengthen its network of expert advisors and financial supporters. Announced in March 2009 at the 7th Annual Meeting of the NPA in Houston, Texas, the "Raising Our Voice" campaign intends to raise $250,000 within three years and to begin an endowment fund to serve on-going policy efforts that target the postdoctoral community.

The "Raising Our Voice" campaign has three goals:

• Increase awareness of postdoctoral issues

• Increase NPA membership and participation in NPA activities

• Ensure the long-term financial security of the NPA.

To date, nearly 7% of the campaign’s financial goal has been reached. The NPA has a tremendous record of accomplishment, including persuading both the NIH and NSF to adopt a definition for "postdoctoral scholar," but the NPA must build a strong foundation of financial support in order to prepare for long-term advocacy and service to future postdoctoral scholars and administrators.

Since its inception in 2003, the NPA has relied almost entirely on support from the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) and the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation. The NPA represents more than 40,000 postdocs—173 institutions pay dues so that their postdocs receive free affiliate membership in the NPA. Nearly 600 members support the NPA through individual contributions of $35 of more; these full members are eligible to vote in elections and serve on the Board of Directors.

Membership dues provide only 25% of our annual operating budget. The remaining 75% must come from sponsorships, grants and gifts. Annual dues of $35 are a small price to pay for a national voice for postdocs—a voice that has the ear of federal agencies like the NIH and the NSF, who have approached us for recommendations on how to better serve the postdoctoral community, and a national voice that has helped convince Congress to require mentoring plans for NSF grant applications and that provides helpful guidelines for both local postdoc organizations and international postdocs. All of the members of the Board of Directors have donated money to the NPA above and beyond their individual membership dues.